Learning The Truth
by Radiant Arabian Nights
Summary: Duncan gets two books called The Icebound Land and the Oakleaf bearers. Realising they hold the key to his daughter and Ranger Will's time calls a meeting fir them all to read them...


**Disclaimer: All Characters belong to their original owners.**

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**Author's Note: I am Handicapped with Aspergers and Dyslexia and a whole lot more so please bare that in mind if my spelling is off. I use spell checker. I also have a slight mental disability so please excuse any mistakes. I do the best I can with writing these stories and trying to post chapters. Also I am a very sick person so their will be periods where I don't update. But ALL my stories will be updated eventually.**

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**Author's Note:**

**Everyone I don't know when my updates will be happening at the moment. I live in Australia. I might not be in the worse fire zone as I live in Tassie. But we still have bad fires.**

**Please send a pray for Australia. As NSW has declared a State of Emergency**

**And Victoria has declared a State of Disaster for the first time ever.**

**Firestorms and Super Fires are also happening. With lives being lost. Including some Figherfighters.**

**So I hope you all say a pray for us. And please if you can donate to the Salvation Army to help the victims of these fires.**

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**Introduction**

Duncan gets two books called The Icebound Land and the Oakleaf bearers. Realising they hold the key to his daughter and Ranger Will's time calls a meeting fir them all to read them...

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**Chapter .1.**

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Duncan had been surprised to find two books on his desk when he went into his office and a note saying '_All you need to know about Ranger Will and your daughter, what happened in Skandia_ _is in these books. These people should be there when you read:_

_Ranger Will Treaty_

_Princess Cassandra _

_Sir Horace Altman_

_Ranger Halt O'Carrick_

_Ranger Gilan _

_Ranger Crowley_

_Sir David_

_Sir Rodney_

_Baron Arald _

_Lady Pauline _

_Lady Alyss Mainwaring_

_Jenny Dalby _

_George Carter_

_Happy Reading"_

He had wanted to know for a long time what has happened by Cassie had been tight lipped. Now was his chance. So he sent out messages to the mentioned people.

It didn't take long for everyone to gather.

"Why do you summon us Sire?" Will asks

"Two weeks ago two books appeared on my desk. I do t know who they are from but this is the note that came with it", Duncan says showing them the note

Will pales at seeing that. This was about him? He didn't what anyone to know about Skandia. He looks at Cassandra and she looked as pale as him.

Halt was happy he was going to finally find out what happened to his former Apprentice others looked like they did too. Except Will and Cassandra who both had gone quite pale.

"So do we start?" Pauline asks gently

"Who will read first?" Crowley asks

"I will, Pauline says

She is passed the book. She gives Will and Cassandra looks of sympathy before opening it.

**One**

**The wolfship was only a few hours from Camp Shelter when the massive storm hit them.**

**For three days, they had sailed north towards Skandia through a sea that was calm as a millpond - a fact appreciated by Will and Evanlyn.**

"**This isn't too bad", Will said, as a narrow ship cut smoothly through the waters.**

**He had heard grim tales of people becoming violently sick on board ships at sea.**

"Too true for Halt here", Gilan says chuckling

Halt glares at Gilan.

"I remember this time that on a ship...", Crowley starts

"Don't you...", Halt starts growling

**But he could see nothing to worry about in this gentle rocking motion.**

Halt groans at the sentence. Just hearing that wanted to make him throw up.

**Evanlyn nodded, a little doubtfully. She was by no means an experienced sailor but she had been to sea before.**

"**If this is as bad as it gets", she said**

"You just jinxed yourselves", Alyss says

"Will has the worst luck we have ever seen!" Gilan says

"Agreed", the people in the room say

Will grumbles at that. But he knew it WAS true.

**She had noticed the worried looks that a Erak. The ships captain**_**, **_**was casting to the north, and the way he was urging **_**wolfwinds **_**rowers on a greater speed. For his part, Erak knew that this deceptively calm weather heralded a change for the worse - much worse. Dimly, on the northern horizon, he could see dark storm line forming. He knew that if they couldn't round Cape Shelter and get into the lee of the land mass in time, hey would take the full force of the storm. For several minutes, he assessed speeds and distances, judging their progress against that of the onrushing clouds.**

"He is a good Captain", Crowley states

"Very good", Will agrees thinking about what happened

"**We're not going to make it", he said finally Svengal. His second in command nodded agreement.**

"**Looks that way", Svengal said philosophically. Erak was glancing keenly round the ship, making sure that there was no loose gear that needed to be secured, his eyes lit on the two prisoners, huddled in the bow.**

"At least he remembered you", Duncan states

"Lucky he did", Cassandra agrees

"**Better tie those two to the mast", he said, "And we'll rig the sweep steering oar as well"**

**Will and Evanlyn watched Svengal as he made his way towards them. He had a coil of light hemp in his hand.**

"**What now?" Will asked. "They can't think we're going to try to escape"**

"Nice to see some fight still in you", Rodney sets your Will

"He was a fighter since the Choosing Day", Baron Arald says

"No since the start", Halt tells them

Will blushes at that.

**But Svengal had stopped by the mast, and was beckoning urgently to them. The row Araluens rose and moved uncertainly toward him. Will noticed that the ships motion was becoming a little more pronounced and the wind was increasing.**

"Observant", Baron Arald comments

"Especially for an Apprentice Ranger", Crowley comments

Will tries to hide his blush.

**He staggered as he made his way to Svengal. Behind him, he heard Evanlyn mutter an unladylike swearword as she stumbled and barked her shin on a bollard.**

"Cassie!" Duncan scolds her

"It was a difficult time Dad and I wasn't a Princess then", Cassandra says calmly

**Svengal drew his axe knife and cut two lengths of cord from the coil.**

"**Tie yourselves to the mast", he told them, "We're in for the mother of all storms any minute"**

"**You mean we could be blown overboard?" Evanlyn asked incredulously. Svengal noted that Will was tying himself to the mast with neatly executed bowline knot. The girl was having some trouble, so Svengal took the rope, passed it around her waist and then secured her as well.**

"I am sorry I didn't help you first", Will says to Cassandra

"It us ok Will. You did great", Cassandra assures him squeezing his hand

Alyss says jealous of that. She knew the Princess and Will had history. But she hoped Will would come to her.

"**Maybe", he replied to her question. "More likely washed overboard by the waves"**

**He saw the boys face go pale with fear.**

"**You're telling us that the waves actually . . . Come on board?" Will said. Svengal darted a fierce, humourless grin at him.**

"**Oh yes indeed", he said, and hurried back to assist Erak the stern, where the captain was already rigging the massive sweep oar.**

Everyone looked shocked they had seen Skandia ships and they couldn't believe waves were bigger then one of those.

**Will swallowed several times. He had assumed that a ship like this would ride over the waves like a gull. Now he was told that the waves were likely to come crashing on board. He wondered how they could possibly stay afloat if that were to happen.**

"**Oh god . . . What is that?" Evanlyn said softly, pointing to the north. The thin dark line that Erak had seen was now roiling black mass only a quarter of a kilometre away, sweeping down on them faster than a horde could gallop. The two of the, huddled close to the base of the mast, trying to wrap their arms all the way round the rough pine pole, scrabbling for a grip with their fingernails.**

**Then the sun was blotted out as the storm hit them.**

**The sheer force of the wind took Will's breath away.**

"Was it that bad?" Horace asks

"Yes and more", Will replies firmly

"It was like being suffocated", Cassandra tells them

Everyone shudders at her words. How could they have survived that?

**Literally. This wasn't a wind like any Will had ever known. This was savage, Living primeval force that wrapped around him, defending him, blinding him, punching the breath out if his lungs and preventing his taking another: smothering him as it tried to claw his grip loose,**

Everyone shudders at that description.

"Oh Will", Jenny says with tears in her eyes

"I'm fine", Will reminds them

**His eyes were shut tight as he struggled to breathe, holding desperately to the mast. Dimly, he heard Evanlyn scream and felt her begin to slip away from him. He grabbed blindly at her, caught her hand and dragged her back.**

"Thanks for that Will", Cassandra says with a smile

"I was going to protect you to the end", Will reminds her

Duncan looked at the two and saw the bond they had.

**The first massive wave struck and the Wolf ships hit canted up a terrifying angle. They began to slide **_**\- backwards and downwards! **_**Svengal and Erak screamed at the rowers. Their voices were lucked away by the wind but the crew. Their backs to the storm, could see and understand their body language. They heaved on the oars, bending the oak shafts with their efforts, and the backwards slide slowly eased. The ship began to claw its way up the face of the wave, rising higher and higher, moving more and more slowly until Will was sure they must begin the terrible backward sliding motion again.**

**Then the crest of the waves broke and thundered over them.**

**Tonnes of water crashed onto the wolfship, driving it down, rolling it far over to the right until it seemed that it would never recover. Will screamed in absolute animal terror, then had the scream cut off as freezing salt water hammering against him, breaking his grip on the mast filling his mouth and lungs and hurling him along the deck until the fragile cord brought him to a stop, swirling this way and that until the mass of water passed over and around him. He was life flapping on the deck like a fish as the ship righted itself. Evanlyn was besides him and together they scrambled back to the mast, clinging on with renewed desperation.**

"Good idea", Crowley says

"You must have been so scared", George comments

"At the time yes", Will replies

Halt flinches at hearing how Will screamed oh how he wished he had protected his Apprentice.

**Then the bow pitched forward and they went plummeting down the back of the ship, but this time it lacked the full forced of the breaking wave and the two young people managed to hold on. The water, waist deep, surged past them. Then the slender wolfship seemed to shake itself free of the massive weight.**

**In the rowing benches, the relief crew were already hard at work, baling water over the side with buckets.**

"Did that help?" Jenny asks

"Not much during that storm", Cassandra replies

"The waves just kept coming", Will added

**Erak and Svengal, in the most part of the shop, were also tired in place, either side of the storm sweep. This was a massive steering oar, half as big again as one of the normal oars, it was used instead of the smaller steering board at times like these. The long oar gave the helmsman greater purchase, so he could assist the rowers in dragging the head of the ship around. Today, it took the strength of both men to manage it.**

**Deep in the trough between waves, the wind seemed to have lost some of its force. Will dashed the salt from his eyes, coughed and vomited sea water onto the deck. He met Evanlyn's terrified gaze. Weakly, he felt he should do something to reassure her. But there was nothing he could say or do.**

"Your presence helped a lot Will", Cassandra tells him

"So did yours", Will tells her

**He couldn't believe that the ship could withstand another wave like that.**

**Yet another was already on the way. Even bigger than the first, it marched towards them across several hundred metres of the trough, rearing and massing itself high above them, higher than the walls of Castle Redmont.**

"That can't be possible!" Baron Arald exclaims in disbelief

"I couldn't even imagine that", Gilan says shocked

"Trust us it was that high and more", Will tells them

**Will buried his face against the mast, felt Evanlyn doing the same as the ship began that awful, slow rise again.**

**Up and Up they went, clawing at the fierce of the wave, the men heaving until their hearts might burst as they truer to drag **_**wolfwind **_**up the wave against the combined force of wind and sea. This time, before the wave broke, Will felt the ship seem to lose the last moment of the battle. He opened his eyes in horror as she began to surge backwards to a certain disaster. Then the crest curled over and smashed down upon then and again, he was sent spinning and scrabbling on the deck, fetching up against the rope that secured him, feeling something slam painfully into his mouth and realised that it was Evanlyn's elbow. Water thundered over him then the bow pitched down once more, and **_**Wolfwind **_**began another sliding, careering dive down the far side, rolling upright, shredding the sea water like a Duck. This time, Will was too weak to scream. He moaned softly and crawled back to the mast. He looked at Evanlyn and shook his head. There was no way they could survive this, he thought. He could see the same fear in her eyes.**

The group was sombre by those thoughts. Halt hated that he hadn't been there to comfort his 'son.'.

"We ARE Alive", Will tells them

"But you nearly died!" Alyss exclaims

"There will be more of that", Will says grimly

Everyone looked at each other. Wondering what else happened.

**In the stern. Erak and Svengal braced themselves as **_**Wolfwind **_**slammed into the trough, sending sheets of water high either side of the bow, the whole fabric of the ship vibrated to the impact. She rolled, shook, righted herself again.**

"**She's taking it well", Svengal shouter. Erak nodded grimly. Terrifying as it might see, to Will and Evanlyn, the wolfship was designed to cope with massive seas like this. But even a wolfship had its limitations. And if they reached them, Erak knew, they would all be dead.**

"**The last one nearly had us", he replied. It was only a last-minute surge by the rowers that had dragged the ship through the crest as she had been about to slide backwards into the trough.**

"**We're going to have to turn her and run before the storm", he concluded and Svengal nodded agreement, staring ahead through eyes slotted against the wind and the Salt spray.**

"**After this one", he said. The next wave was a little smaller than the one that nearly finished them. But 'smaller' was a relative term. The two Skandians tightened their grip on the sweep oar.**

"**Heave, damn you! Heave!" Erak roared at the rowers as the mountain of water reared high above them and **_**Wolfwind **_**began another slow precarious climb,**

"**Oh no. Please, please p, let it end", Will moaned as he felt the bow can't upwards once more. The terror was physically exhausting l he just wanted it to stop. If necessary, he thought, let the ship go under. Let it all go. Make an end of it. Just make this mind numbing terror stop. **

Will sees the looks of sympathy at him. But Will didn't want to hear it.

**He could hear Evanlyn beside him, sobbing with fear. He placed an arm around her but he couldn't bring himself to do anything more to comfort her.**

"You did enough", Cassandra tells him

"You did, and I thank you Ranger", Duncan says

"It is nothing", Will replies blushing

Everyone rolls their eyes at that.

**Up, up and up they went, then there was the familiar riot of the collapsing crest and the thunder of water crashed down upon them. Then the bow came through the crest, slamming against the back of the wave and plummeting down. Will tried to scream but his throat was raw and his energy exhausted. He managed only a low sob.**

_**Wolfwind **_**slices into the sea at the base of the wave again. Erak bellowed instructions to the rowers. They would have a short time in the wind shadow of the next approaching wave, and that wad the time to make their turn.**

"**To the steerboard side!" He bellowed, pointed his hand in the direction of the turn just in case his voice didn't carry to some of the forward rowers - although there was little fear of that.**

**The rowers set their feet against the wooden bracing boards. Those on the steerboard, or right-hand, side of the ship drew their oar handset back towards them. The left side rowers pushed forward. As the ship levelled, Erak roared out his order.**

"**Now!"**

**The oar blades dipped into the sea Andy as one side pushed and the other pulled, Rak and Svengal threw their weight on the sweep. The long, narrow ship pivoted neatly, almost in one spot, bringing the stern around to the wind and sea.**

"**Now pull together!" Erak roared and the oarsmen went too it with a Will. He had to keep this ship moving a little faster than the following sea or it would overwhelm them. He glanced at the two young Araluen captives huddles miserably by the mast.**

"At least he remembered you", Horace says

"Should gave noticed them sooner", Halt grumbles

"He had other things on his mind", Evanlyn tells them  
"He makes up for it later anyway", Will adds

**Then forgot them as he went back judging the ships movements, keeping her stern to the following sea, ant error on his part and she'd broach sideways, and that would be the end of them, they were riding easier, he knew. But this was no timer to distracted.**

**To Will and Evanlyn, the shop was still plunging and tearing in a terrifying fashion, travelling through a vertical distance of as much fifteen metres was more controlled. They were going with the sea, not fighting it. Will sensed a slight easing in the motion. **

"Observant again", Gilan comments

"Even under those circumstances", Crowley adds

Halt looks at Will with pride. Will blushes at that.

**Spray and solid water still slammed over them at regular intervals but the terrifying p, backsliding motion was a thing of the past, as the ship coped with each successive mountain of water sweeping under and around it, Will began to believe that they **_**might **_**have a slight chance of survival.**

**But it was a slim **_**might. **_**He still felt the same surge of bowel-gripping terror with every wave that overtook them, each time, he felt that this could well be the last. He put both arms around Evanlyn, felt her arms forgo around his neck in return, her icy cheek pressed against his own. And so the two young people sought, and found comfort and courage from each other, Evanlyn was whimpering with fear. And so was he, Will with some surprise - muttering meaningless words over and over, calling out to Halt, to Tug, to anyone who might listen and help. But as wave followed wave and **_**Wolfwind **_**survived, the blinding terror lessened and nervous exhaustion took its place and, eventually, he slept. **

Halt again feels guilty as his 'Son' had been calling for him. He let his son go through all this alone. Just hearing this made the guilt he still held triple.

**For seven more days, the ship was driven far to the south, out of the Narrow Sea and into the fringes of the Endless Ocean. And Will and Evanlyn huddled to the mast: sodden, exhausted, freezing. The numbing fear of disaster was always present in their minds but, gradually, they began to believe they might survive.**

**On the eighth day, the sun broke through. It was weak and watery, to be sure but it was the sun, the violent plunging motion ceased and once again the ship rode smoothly across the face of the rollers,**

**Erak, his beard and hair rimed with salt, hauled tiredly on the sweep, bringing the ship round in a smooth curve to race the north once more,**

"**Let's head for Cap Shelter", he told his crew.**

"That is the end of Chapter One", Pauline tells them

Halt didn't know how he would get through the rest if this was only chapter one. What else did his son experience?

Pauline takes his hand and squeezes it in comfort.  
"I am fine Halt", Will tells him noticing his look, "It is NOT your fault!"

Gilan also had a look of guilt for not being with Will and Cassandra at that time if only he didn't leave them.

"It's mine", Gilan states

"No it isn't!" Will insists  
"Cassie I'm sorry I didn't sen…", Duncan starts

"Daddy I understand! You had duties to Araluen. We were fine in the end", Cassandra says hugging her father

"It is NOBODY'S fault!" Will tells them as he sees Horace looking guilt too about to say something.  
"I will read now", Alyss says changing the subject

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**Author's Note: What do you think? Please Review:)**


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